Gut microbiome diversity across seasons and locations in thai captive Asian elephants (elephas maximus)

The gut health of captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) is strongly influenced by human management. However, studies simultaneously examining the effects of both geographical location and season on the gut microbiome of these elephants remain limited. In this study, we focused on two geographically distant and ecologically distinct provinces in Thailand, which differ markedly in management practices, climate, vegetation, and landscape. Fecal samples from 20 to 10 captive Asian elephants in Lampang and Kanchanaburi, respectively, were collected during the wet and dry seasons. The gut microbiome was dominated by the phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidota across all seasons and locations. Alpha diversity indices indicated that samples from the Lampang-wet group presented the highest diversity, whereas those from the Kanchanaburi-dry group showed the lowest. Beta-diversity analysis revealed significant differences in microbial community structure among the four groups. Functional prediction analysis indicated that microbial metabolic pathways varied between seasons, with carbohydrate metabolism pathways being more enriched in the wet season. Differences in microbiome composition and specific bacterial taxa were observed between samples from Lampang and Kanchanaburi, reflecting the unique management and environmental conditions of each region. Overall, microbial diversity was generally higher during the wet season compared to the dry season.